I think i have dermatillomania, i compulsively pick at my face and neck. It started out as picking the odd spots but has developed over many years into picking at dry skin, and dark patches even when theres no spots there at all. It’s an obsession. I dont want to do it, I hate myself afterwards, I even know while Im doing it that I should stop. But I can’t. Something just makes me carry on. I know I’m destroying my skin but it just depresses me even further and Im always so jealous of women with flawless skin. I wear so much foundation to hide it when I go out but even then it can be noticeable on some days. It gets particularly bad when Im under stress or emotional pressure, or if I’m thinking deeply, sometimes I just find myself doing it when Im bored! It’s like Im in a trance when Im doing it. I cant just “snap out of it”.
The only thing Ive really found to work even a little is taking down the mirror in the bathroom so that I cant see myself.
Ive also tried drinking lots of water, because it does tend to keep breakouts of spots to a minimum, and when i have less spots I feel less inclined to do so much facial scrutinizing, and the picking isn’t usually as bad.
I want nothing more than to stop picking at my face. Ive had ocd as a child with washing hands and counting. Its all so embarassing though. I dont want to admit it to people, even though it might help to have the support.
I’m just going to take it a day at a time and try my hardest not to pick. Fingers crossed.
How to get over my OCD
How I did it: I have always had a thing with stepping over the cracks in the ground and not stepping on leaves, but these never got in the way of me living my life. That is, until November 2008. I had a complete meltdown and wouldnt leave my room for three days because everything about my house was "wrong". The only people that I have told about these things are a few really close friends and one of my teachers who I consider a close friend. The way I really learned to cope with the obsessivness is by making fun of it. There are things that I will do when I am with a bunch of friends and only one or two people will know why I do it (straightening things out to make them "right") then we just start busting up laughing and no one else knows why. It is just one of those things that is like an inside joke with us. I also don't let it get in the way of my everyday life because I will notice when something is taking up my time. I will stop the action and tell myself "fuck that, I dont need to do this". There are still days when I have OCD attacks, but being with friends and family to just laugh it out makes it easier to cope with.
I just want to point out that my OCD isn't the worst case or anywhere near the worst. Laughter is my coping mechanism.
Lessons & tips: Make it a joke. You are better than people without OCD, you have a keen eye for detail! You know when something is wrong.
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but i think i’m well on my way to getting in under control. i’ll always be a perfectionist, and i’m ok with that. i just hope to be able to worry less, and live more.
Okay me and my boyfriend just broke up and he says its because i call him to much and always want to be around and never want him to do things with his friends… I feel like i cant get ahold on what im doing. I mean i know that when im calling its driving him crazy but i just cant stop its like something has got ahold of me. I am trying to get my life undercontrol because i love him kid and i want to be with him but i have to show him i can change and i want to change for myself. I just am always afraid of lossing people because ever since i was little i started lossing ppl. my parents got divorced when i was 5 and things kept getting worse so i put everything into one person thinking that they can fill all the empty spots. I understand all that now and all i want is some help..so if there is anyone who can help me please msg back
what i mean by getting over my ocd is simply that… i’m not saying that i want to cure my ocd, or escape from it – which of course i do. but i also recognize that wanting to do that is not what my life is about. i have ocd, and i just want to get over it… get over the fact that maybe, yeah, it hinders my life in some ways, but in so many others it enriches it..! i just want to learn to accept and deal with what i have. and i am definitely on that path, and have been these last few years… i’ve learned how to better control my symptoms, and how to just deal with the ones that don’t seem to go away. so i’m getting there.
yes, it does suck to have OCD. my ocd is not bad, although it is time consuming. for example, i have to write a certain way, and if a letter looks wrong to me, i’ll re-shape it until it looks ok again. and i have to re-fold my clothes after my parents do when they come out of the dryer because.. well, i dont know, but i have to. they look nicer that way and i won’t think about them as much. haha. so, things like that.
thats my story!
wish it wasn’t that way, maybe someday i’ll get over it.
~ beckie
Mind over matter. I had a kind of OCD where I had to keep looking over my shoulder, and now I’m okay. One reason = Scary Movie 4. Ahaha. Always helps me get over stuff, this time the main thing causing my OCD being War of the Worlds. :)
Well, when I was 11 I decided to watch my first horror movie (hah pathetic) away from home. Very smart of me. Well I was on a school trip to St. Louis, and they were playing “Signs.” Not a very good choice either because I actually believe in life elsewhere in the universe. Well then I started looking under and/or behind objects whenever I walk into a room (e.x. a bed, a couch, a counter, etc.) and every 5 seconds – 5 minutes i turn around and look over my shoulder to see if anything is creeping up behind me. This has developed into habit and OCD. (It didn’t help that I recently watched “War of the Worlds” either, which was much scarier and people call me a baby for freaking out about, but seriously, that stuff scares me!! I can live with the Ring and things that don’t show excessive gore, but with aliens . . . that’s my weak spot.) I’ve actually looked behind me over 10 times in the past minute while I was typing this. I also have developed something for closing doors. After I close the door, I make sure that there could not be anything in the specified room that could hurt me, and if the door is opened I have to frequently re-check everything.
That’s just weird.
I need help!!
